1. ABS 

PULLEY SHRUG 

IT WORKS: UPPER ABS

SETS + REPETITIONS: 3 SETS OF 10, 10, 10 + DESCENDANT SET TO FAIL 

» START UP Attach a cable to a high pulley. Kneel 60 or 90 centimetres away from the pulley and facing the cable. Grab the cable with both hands; place them behind the head and holding the ends above the ears. 

» EXECUTION Contract the abs to bring your elbows toward the floor doing the bow farthest possible. To truly workout the waist, arch your back instead of keeping it flat. Avoid bringing the chin towards the chest; keep it neutrally aligned, as if you had a small apple between it and the chest. 

» PATH This upper abs exercise is done using a weight that allows you to reach the fail in any repetition interval planned, but here we use a heavy load to mainly workout the fast contraction fibres. As you get stronger, resistance must be increased. In the last set, reduce the load in a 30% at the end and reach fail. 

DECLINED TRUNK RAISE 

IT WORKS: UPPER ABS

SETS+ REPETITIONS: 3 SETS OF 15, 15, 15 + 10 TO 15 REPETITIONS 

» START UP Comfortably seat on the bench, the feet fixed under the knees. Softly place your hands behind the head for support. Bend back until feeling tension in the abs. 

» EXECUTION Doing a soft motion, contract abs to flex the body until it is perpendicular to the bench. Arch your back when you go up to increase abs contraction. Since the hip flexors are remarkably activated in this exercise, try not to contract quadriceps to help you with the raise. 

» PATH This exercise can easily be adjusted to your capacity. Use an adjustable declined bench, as shown here, if you are advanced, and less declined if you have just started the motion. You can also place hands behind your head or hold a disc against your chest. Make sure to choose a load that allows you to do 15 repetitions with strict style. If the bench is adjustable, immediately get up after the last set, descend two degrees and go up until doing 10 to 15 repetitions more. 

2. CALF 

DONKEY CALF RAISE 

IT WORKS: GASTROCNEMIUS, SOLEUS

SETS + REPETITIONS: 1 FOR WARMING UP, 3 HEAVY SETS OF 12 REPETITIONS + 10 SHORT REPETITIONS 

» START UP Adjust the support to place the upper part of the gluteus and the lower back on it, so you can use a full range of path without having to bend your knees too much. Place your elbows on the front support and the instep of your feet on the platform, at hip's width and your fingers slightly pointing out. Keep the back stretched and the head in neutral position. Let the heels go towards the floor, in order to feel a proper calf stretching. 

» EXECUTION Raise yourself as much as possible on your heels and squeeze for one second before slowly going back to the starting point. If the weights touch each other in the lower position, lower the back support to keep tension on the calf. In the final set, before reaching fail, add 10 fast and short repetitions. 

» PATH This exercise mainly works out the gastrocnemius, including the advantage that the resistance dos not go straight against the spine, as it happens in the heels raise on machine. As calves are resistance muscles, basically made of slow contraction fibres, it is necessary to work them out with high and low repetitions. In low repetitions, load the weight accurately and try to do one or two extra repetitions each week. 

HEELS RAISE ON SLIDING MACHINE 

IT WORKS: GASTROCNEMIUS, SOLEUS

SETS + REPETITIONS: 3 LIGHT SETS OF 10 REPETITIONS + 10 SHORT REPETITIONS 

» START UP Seat on the machine, your hips firmly placed against the back support. Put the instep of your feet against the sledge, at hip's width and the fingers slightly pointing out to let the heel move. Extend your legs without blocking the knees, letting the heels go down lower than the fingers' height to feel a good stretching. 

» EXECUTION Press across the feet's instep to push the sledge back as much as possible. Hold the final contraction for one second before slowly going back to the initial position, letting the heels move under the platform level. 

» PATH This is another calf exercise that reduces tension on the lower back. Choose a weight that allows you to do more repetitions until fail. After the last set, do other 10 repetition using fast explosive movements. 

3. FOREARM 

HAMMER CURL 

IT WORKS: BICEPS, BRACHIAL, BRACORADIAL.

SETS + REPETITIONS: 3 SETS OF 10, 10, 10 + DESCENDANT SET UNTIL FAIL 

» STRART UP Upright, keeping the spine flat and the knees loose, grab a pair of dumbbells with your arms extended aside. Palms should face your body. Block elbows aside. 

» EXECUTION Lift a dumbbell in a soft way contracting biceps and forearm. Bring it straight upside until it is close to the shoulder, not oblique. Then fully contract triceps and forearms during one second and go down in a controlled way to the starting point. Do all repetitions with one side or alternating them. 

» PATH If you have already done this exercise to finish your biceps training, know you how it works them and the forearms out. Brachial gets into action because the hands are in neutral position. Use a good load to focus on fast contraction fibres and after the last set, cut off 4 or 5 kilos to reach muscular fail. 

INVERTED ARM CURL WITH BAR 

IT WORKS: BICEPS, BRACHIAL, BRACORADIAL.

SETS + REPETITIONS: 3 SETS OF 15, 15. 15 + DESCENDANT SET UNTIL FAIL 

» START UP Standing upright, keeping the back slightly arched and the knees loose, grab a loaded bar with both hand palms facing down and arms extended above thighs. 

» EXECUTION Contract the forearms to lift the bar to shoulder's height. Keep elbows blocked aside, don't let them move front. The motion should be continuous, and you will fully squeeze in the final position, going down to the starting point in a controlled way. 

» PATH The exercise is the same that the bar arm curl, except here we use a prone grip. Therefore, we focus on forearms; despite we won't be able to use as much weight as in normal curl. Prone grip imposes an emphasis different from neutral grip of the hammer curl. Use a non-excessive weight and cut off approximately a 30% after the last set, as a part of the descendant set. 

TRAINING 

 

1 Excludes warming up sets

2 Choose a weight that barely allows you to fulfil with strict style the planned repetitions. As you get stronger and capable of completing the repetitions, increase the load.

3 Once you finished the third set of each abdominal exercise, immediately do a descendant set to reach the planned repetitions.

4 Once you finish the third calf set, do 1 or 2 very fast repetitions using inertia and a reduced path interval.

5 After the third set of forearms, immediately reduce weight and continue the descendant set until fulfilling the planned repetitions.